The Wrong Kind of Right
by FerrisBuellerLovesMe
Summary: It's a known fact James Potter is in love with Lily Evans, but what happens when she finally gives him the time of day? JPLE
1. The Lipstick

Their seventh year was upon them, all of them. It didn't make it any easier with Mrs. Potter standing on the platform, holding both boys- her boys as she liked to call them- in a hug and sobbing her last time ever saying goodbye as they leave for Hogwarts.

It was embarrassing to say the least and James was going to dread the tears she would be heaving come his and Sirius' graduation day. The two boys, James and Sirius, had basically become brothers over the summer. Sirius had left his house and the Potters kindly took him in; now Mrs. Potter was crying over his leaving just as much as she was James'.

"Mum, mum this is getting embarrassing," James tried to hush her. She had a tight grip around them both no matter how much Sirius was trying to wiggle away. He wasn't used to this type of affection, especially from mothers.

"Oh James give your mum a rest, she's just going to miss you," Mr. Potter chuckled standing behind them.

"Yes, but she's going to strangle Sirius and I to death," James teased and with a huff his mum released him from her hug of death. Sirius tried not to laugh at how skewed James' glasses had become, but he made enough of a snorted laugh to get hit in the arm by James before he fixed his glasses.

"Now you boys take care of yourselves," Mrs. Potter said trying to calm herself, "James' you're Head Boy this year so that means no messing around. Everyone will be looking to you as their mentor." Sirius again snickered, but before James could glare, Mrs. Potter turned on him to.

"Just because you're not my true son doesn't mean you can out either. If I hear either of you causing trouble, I will not hesitate one second to send you both a howler," she pointed a white-gloved finger at them. Sirius stopped laughing. It was scary when a mother cared so much that she threatened you like that.

"Alright you two, onto the train," Mr. Potter grinned clapping them both on the back, "and I don't want to see either of you until Christmas!"

"We'll tried not to get expelled Mr. Potter, promise," Sirius laughed. It was so odd to him how the Potters acted. They were a true family and they brought him right into it like he had lived his entire life with them. He was forever going to be grateful to the Potters and the love they gave him.

"Trying is not good enough!" Mrs. Potter hushed him, but pulled James to her and kissed his cheek with bright red lipstick. James groaned and tried to wipe the lipstick off his cheek. Sirius was slippery enough to get away from her before getting a kiss.

"Goodbye Mum! Dad!" James called as he stepped on the train.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Thank you for everything!" Sirius called afterwards. The two boys disappeared into the train as Mrs. Potter broke into another sob. Her babies were all grown up now!

Lily Evans boarded the train without the same goodbye as James and Sirius had received. Of course her parents were so proud of her and gave her hugs and kisses, but that was outside of the station. Her parents being muggles never went onto the platform with her. Her older sister gave her a hug, but no wishes of luck or congratulations on making Head Girl.

It was with a happy heart she boarded the Hogwarts Express for her last year at Hogwarts. She already knew she was going to miss the castle she called her second home, but it would be okay. She would writer to her friends and maybe if she tried hard enough, she would find herself on her way back to Hogwarts soon; Lily wanted to be a Professor.

Her eyes had caught the sight of a James Potter and Sirius Black getting smothered by a mother she supposed was James with the way her jet-black hair matched James' and the man with them was wearing wired rimmed glasses.

In the last two years she and James had played cat and mouse. He chased her about Hogwarts asking for a date, but she always said no. Her friends always told her what a mistake she was making, but she there were some things about James Lily didn't approve of. She disliked the way his ego filled the room or how he had to be the center of attention and laughter. Sure his dings were funny, but sometimes they were still wrong.

James also had a reputation too. Not as a womanizer, but as a heart throb. He made girls melt so easily with the simplest smile and what bugged Lily about that was he knew it. James knew girls liked him and he used it to his advantage most of the time, even in pursuit of her. Lily refused to fall for it. If he really wanted her to be his, he was going to have to find another way to make it happen.

The Head Boy and Girl were supposed to meet in the front of the train to instruct their prefects and give out this year's worth of passwords. Lily made her way there first, stopping in and saying hello to her good friends here and there. When she arrived in the cabin she found she was the last one to arrive.

Her apple green eyes scanned the prefects- a girl and boy from each house, year five through seven- all standing around two boys explaining something in hushed tones.

"James Potter you better not be starting some sort of revolt," Lily smirked crossing her arms. James looked up smirking. A revolt? Against Hogwart's curfew? Good idea, but no.

"Lily, will you go out with James?" the entire cabin chorused. James smiled widely and Sirius was smirking, most likely the one to come up with the plan. Lily bit her lip and willed herself not to blush as she shook her head not for the answer, but at the ridiculous of the method.

"We have a meeting to run here, everyone take a seat," she simply answered. There were some groans and tempered sighs, but everyone took a seat in the cabin. Well besides James who was walking up to Lily.

"Is that a yes then?" he smiled widely. Sirius snuck up behind James.

"No," she stated going through her purse for the envelopes that contained this years passwords for each house.

"Then is that a no?" James asked again.

"No," she noted biting her lip as she ruffled through the envelopes. She started moving through the cabin handing out the envelopes to the student with his or her name on it. James kept following her, and Sirius following them.

"If it's not a yes and it's not a no then which is it?" Sirius asked. He was just as wanting of an answer as James was. He was the one who thought of this plan. Hell, they had been perfecting it all summer. If they had all the perfects ask she could not tell James to shut up, nor would she have the heart to say no. Okay, so it was a bit of a pressure date, but after two years sometimes a guy gets desperate.

"Sirius... why are you in here? This cabin is for prefects and heads," Lily asked, blinking. Bullocks. He was there for moral support.

"I was..." he bit his lip, "just leaving. See you later Prongs." Sirius then left so he no longer had to be a victim of Lily's death glare. James gave him a wave and turned his attention back to Lily who was back to passing out the envelopes. She really was beautiful. She was simple in her muggle clothes, but to James she just stood out as everything he wanted. He knew if he was able to tell her how much he loved her laugh or the way she half smiled at him when he did something mischievous, then she would see he sincerely liked her, that he wasn't just trying to get to her because he liked the chase. Except, telling her all that was the problem, especially if she would not go out on a date with him.

"Lily please answer me," James begged now that Sirius was no longer to there to support him. Lily turned to look at James. Her bright green eyes searched his face and his own hazel eyes briefly before sighing. She was finally going to say yes.

"You have some lipstick on your face," she told him and turned to finish the last of the envelopes. James' eyes widened as he began to scrub at where his mother kissed him. He was about to explain himself when Lily turned and started telling the prefects of the rules and how to give and take away house points.

With a sigh, James flopped into his seat. This was hopeless. She was always going to say no. He had a feeling even if he tried to explain it was his mother's lipstick she wouldn't believe him. He needed a way to make her believe him though, and not just about the lipstick, but everything. He was going to give this one more chance, and then after that, he was giving up on ever dating Lily Evans.


	2. The Lucky Girl

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'd name you all, but there was a bunch of you. :blushes wildly: Last chapter I said Petunia was younger than Lily. Opps! She's older. Thanks to x LiL jEsSi x for noticing this! It has been edited!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and earn no money from them... damn it.

Chapter 2: The Lucky Girl

"I have a question," James asked as he and Lily did their nightly patrol together. School had been in progress for the last week and nothing had changed between he and Lily. He hadn't been trying though to ask her out. If anything he was just trying to get on her good side.

"No," Lily answered from the Charms book she was reading as she walked. James smirked. He loved how she was able to do that- walk and read at the same time. There was something so ridiculously cute about it that warmed his heart. He bet she didn't know that. She probably imagined him thinking it as stupid or thinking she should have been placed in Ravenclaw.

"I wasn't going to ask you out," James chuckled. God she was assertive sometimes. A true know it all, but the way she stopped reading and snapped her book shut to look at him was endearing; he could help but smile at her.

"Really?" she was in shock. He hadn't asked her since the train. Surely she was over do for the famous 'ask Lily out when she least expects it so she accidentally says yes.'

"Yes really," he laughed, "Actually I was going to ask you how come you weren't shocked that I made Head Boy."

James wanted to know the answer because in the last week, Lily had been the only one to not come up to him telling him how unbelievable it was he got the position of Head Boy. Lily bit her lip and closed her book to hold to her chest as she walked with her eyes back on her shoes. She didn't want to look at him then he would be able to make fun of her sincerity.

"Because you were a fair prefect last year and you do well in all your classes," Lily shrugged to make it seem like nothing when really she knew exactly why she didn't question it. It was because when James wasn't pulling his pranks, he was extremely responsible. James always got his homework in on time and was there whenever needed. Sometimes he was a bit late, but she wasn't going to judge him on that too badly.

"That's it?" James questioned and Lily nodded, opening up her book to read again. She didn't know what she was going to do this year. She had all NEWT classes and Head Girl duties. At least she didn't play Quidditch like James did; otherwise she'd really be in trouble. Lily snuck a look at James. Even with her weak answer, he was grinning like an idiot.

-------

"Give it back you two!" Peter hopped high in the air for his hat. Sirius gave a joyful chuckle when he caught the hat, faked like he was going to give it to Peter, and then threw it back to James. "This isn't funny!"

"Yes but you lost the ball we were throwing around," Sirius noted. Peter gave a glare. Okay that had been an accident! He didn't mean to fumble it or have it roll into the forbidden forest. And no he was not going in to fetch it- if someone should go 'fetch' the ball, it should be Sirius.

"Give him back his hat you two," Remus muttered from his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. James gave an overdramatic sigh and held out the hat for Peter to snatch up and place back on his head.

"You know Moony, you're no fun anymore," James chuckled while plopping down next to Moony on the warm ground in front of the lake. Sirius scoffed and plopped down too, making sure to give enough of a shove to James that it made Remus topple over.

"Says Mr. Head Boy, you know you haven't pulled anything so far this year," Sirius was not happy with this. Of course he had already jinxed some well know Slytherins multiple times. Of course he got detentions for it, mainly from Lily Evans, but he didn' mind. James on the other hand had "No detentions. Its ridiculous."

"You heard my mother, I don't want another Howler this year," James decided smartly, pushing his wired framed glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah, uh-huh, that's exactly it," Remus smirked behind his book he was no longer reading. Peter finally sat down on the other side of Remus.

"You don't believe me? Think you know me better than I know myself?" James asked incredulously.

"No, I just thinking your lying."

"Fine then, why am I trying to stay out of trouble this year?"

"To make Lily Evans like you," Remus smirked. Sirius chuckled so hard his laugh sounded almost like a bark. It had begun to sound like that the more he stayed in his animagus form, but he thought it a bit sexy. So did the girls he messed around with, so it was all good.

"That's ridiculous," James muttered. They all knew it wasn't though. James was trying to stay in line to make Lily notice he's changed. It was working- sort of. They were talking a bit more and it wasn't just her yelling at him. However, there had been no sign that she liked him or wished to date him any time soon. He didn't know what he had to do to prove to her he liked her.

"Mmm, course it is, what was I thinking?" Remus mused sarcastically and stood up. "Well I must be off, I have to go help someone with an essay." Sirius looked at James and James smirked right back.

"Moony you dog- you didn't tell us you had a girl!" Sirius howled with joyious tones. Remus blushed bright red.

"No I don't. I swear to you, it's just homework help."

"I don't believe him, do you believe him Peter?" James nudged the boy who liked staying quiet.

"No."

"And I sure as hell don't believe it, so who's the lucky girl then Remus?" Sirius was grinning like a sadistic pig. He was such a flirt and player, but he was never seen around any girl. He wasn't the dating type and especially not the commitment type.

"She's not the 'lucky girl,' she just needs help with her Defense homework!" Remus growled.

"Oh so it is a she then!" Sirius announced and when Remus blushed they all made boisterous noises of approval.

"Tell us who is she?" Peter butted in.

"Guys! I swear to you all it is studying."

"That's what you think. I bet you she's planning to take you right on the library table," James grinned widely.

"You better hope not," Remus shot back smirking, finally having something to make them shut up.

"Why not?" James asked somewhat innocently; he was a bit afraid of Remus' wolfish smirk.

"Because its Lily."


	3. He Wanted A Forever

A/N: Mmm chapter three. What fun! Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapters. I'm glad you love it so much. I had to get out Book 6 for this chapter- kudos to those who can figure out why!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is hot. I want on Harry Potter. But alas he is not mine. He is JK Rowlings. So is Draco. And Ron. And Sirius. And Remus... and all the ones I don't think hot as well.

Chapter 3: He Wanted A Forever

Lily sat at one of the back tables of the library trying to do her work. She was getting behind in her classes and mostly in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was her worst subject by far. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't keep up. Maybe it was this year's teacher: a strict ex-auror who scared the living daylights out of her. If it weren't for Remus helping her out though, she and her perfect record would be doomed.

As commonly known, Lily was a little Miss Perfect and she liked it that way. She liked being stubborn and always right. It made her life easier. She slept at night peacefully, she didn't cry over lost boyfriends and she didn't fuss over school drama. No, she didn't want that- or that's what she told herself at least.

Biting the tip of her tongue her eyes scanned the pages of her textbook as she scribbled down notes. James thought it was adorable how she bit her tongue like that. And the hair draping down in front of her eyes? He just wanted to tuck it behind her ear and then give her a soft little...

"You have to promise to be good," Remus stated for the umpteenth time during their walk from the lake to the library. When he told the Marauders he was tutoring Lily, they all didn't believe it. Then when he finally convinced them, James started having a mental breakdown of what if's. Mostly- what if she liked Remus? To prove him wrong, Moony allowed his worrywart friend to accompany him... if he promised to be good.

"I promise, I promise," James was bouncing on his heals, raring to talk to her. Remus had a feeling this was a bad idea, but it was too late to turn back now. With a sigh he began walking to Lily's table, James following like an obedient puppy.

"Afternoon Lily," Remus smiled as he sat down across from her. James took the uninvited liberty to sit down next to her. Lily's eyes lifted from her paper to James' wide-eyed stare and then she turned to Remus questioning him. He knew she didn't want anyone knowing she needed help in classes. It was just a little catch up work and then she would be fine again. No big deal.

And what good would James be? Sometimes he was worse than Sirius when it came to not getting work done.

"Remus... I thought we were going to work on homework together," she bit her lip, eyes shifting to James who was being unusually smiley and quiet. It almost frightened her how giddy he seemed to be.

"We are, it's just James is much better at Defense than I am," Remus removed his books from his bag nonchalantly. Lily was staring at him in unbelief, brows furrowed in frustration. Yes James was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he was also boisterous and left work until the last minute.

"I've already finished my essay," he stated. Lily turned to watch him. He hadn't stated the fact proudly, just as if it were a fact. She bit her lip not knowing what to think. Was this another trap? When were all the students going to chorus that she should go out with him?

"Okay..." she drew out expecting some catch. Instead James went through his bag and pulled out his own books and finished essay. Lily was in shock and James noticed; he chuckled slightly in response.

"What part are you having trouble with Lils?" he asked professionally, and if it had not been for his grin she would have thought this was not the real James Potter. He had to admit, he thought she looked rather adorable all confused like that. Lily had a right to be though- when had he ever called her 'Lils' before? Mostly he stuck to Lily with the occasional Evans- it was safer.

She coughed to hide her shock and shook her head to pretend like this was all business. "The wand movement part," she told him, pointing to the picture in her book to James. She looked up at Remus who seemed consumed in his book and not even ready to help her like he promised. No she was stuck with James, who actually was turning out to be a rather mature tutor.

James explained to Lily the complicated wand movements of the Defense Charm they were to write about. Her brow furrowed in all the right moments as she scribbled his words onto her page and crossed things out with nice straight lines. Even her mistakes were perfect.

It was hours later when the two finally finished writing Lily's paper, her making sure she understood every bit of the Defense Charm incase she was asked to explain it. She didn't want to look like she had cheated, but then again even if she did cheat who would ever think she did? When they both looked up they found Remus had left, neither realizing he had ever said goodbye.

"Thank you James, for helping me," Lily smiled lightly and awkwardly as both of them began walking back to the common room together. James couldn't believe the afternoon he had just had. Though he had been doing schoolwork all afternoon, he had spent it with Lily. Which made it more than amazing. The way she listened to him explain things, her giggles when he made a joke, James was more than sure he was in love and always had been.

"No problem Lily, anytime," he smiled at her through his rimmed glasses with his hazel eyes. A small blush laced her cheeks that made him grin wider. It was a known fact that Lily Evans did not blush. Nor did she flirt or give any boys the time of day- well that was if they had the courage to hit on her. Not only was she known to be all schoolwork, but it was pretty much known Lily was James' if she knew it or not. However, she was doing all the things she normally didn't do- blush, talk, laugh- with James. It made his heart warm.

They walked in a comforting silence all the way back. James held open the portrait for her when she entered and walked her all the way to the stairs that let to her dorms. He bit his lip. This would be the perfect moment to ask her out. She couldn't resist. They had had such a good day together; he could still see the blush in her cheeks.

"Lily..." he started out, but he couldn't do it. Lily looked at him surprised and expectant of something. He realized it was not the bland face he usually received. Something had changed between them. Something he liked. As much as he wanted to ask her out, he didn't want to ruin _this_. "You know that day on the train? With the lipstick? That was my mum's."

That had been bothering James. He didn't want Lily to think he was a prick who got with random girls all the time. He had gone out with a few girls, but he wasn't one for one night stands. He didn't want her to think he was like that because then she might think that's what he wanted from her. He didn't want that though. He wanted so much more than that. He wanted a relationship, a love, and a forever.

Lily laughed lightly, shaking her head causing some of her hair to fall out of the bun it was tucked into. Her eyes looked into his. He was so open and innocent looking she couldn't help placing one of her hands on his cheek sweetly. "I know it was James."

"Then why- why did you? Does that mean-" he was flabbergasted. She had acted like- he didn't even know how she acted exactly; she just didn't give him an answer.

"Goodnight James," she sung, still smiling, and started up the stairs. James stood watching his fire goddess ascended the stairs, the warmth of her hand still lingering pleasantly on his cheek.

**000**

"If you don't ask her out again soon I'm going to do it for you," Sirius stated as the four Marauders walked down the hall together. James simple glared at Sirius's remark. It had been a week since he helped her with her homework. They had begun talking on a regular basis together about not just about classes, but everything. He knew her favorite color now- blue- and favorite candy- chocolate frogs.

She knew about him too. She was just as interested about him, asking questions constantly and laughing with him when they shared little stories. She told him about the times she thought he was mostly immature, but rather funny all the same. They were getting off rather nice together, but James still couldn't bring himself to ask her to Hogsmeade again. He was scared she'd say no and what they had would be ruined. He also remembered his promise that this would be the last time he asked her.

"Maybe we could just lock them in a broom closet together," Remus noted with a wolfish grin. He was enjoying the in between days of the full moon happily.

"No, she'd probably hex him," Peter piped in. James turned his glare to Peter then and the laughter from the squeaky boy stopped. She wouldn't hex him. No, things were different now. Things were-

"James!" He looked up hearing his name being called from down the crowded hall. In front of him Lily was sprinting towards him, her red hair blazing through the mess of other students. Without thinking she threw her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his waist smiling widely. James caught her in his arms laughing at her absurdity with question laced in his hazel eyes along with the laughter. It was not a normal thing for Lily Evans to jump right into his arms.

"Top Marks, I got top marks on my essay!" She giggled in his arms as he held her light as a feather. Her green eyes were shinning down at him, smiling wide and James couldn't help grinning back. Her grip around him was tight, her locking him to her as they celebrated with cheer.

It was in that moment of their smiles that everything stopped. The entire world froze and it was only them in their happiness. Then, without thinking, without planning it, without worrying that the entire hall and James' three closet friends were watching, James kissed her.

After several long moments, with wolf-whistles from Sirius and Remus and the need for air, they broke apart. Lily's cheeks were bright red as looked down at him returning a happy smile to James. She tucked her hair behind her ears embarrassed at what she just did, but Lily couldn't deny how fast her heart was beating or how in those moments when her lips pressed to his, it even seemed to stop.

"Does this mean you'll finally go out with me now?" James was grinning like Christmas came early and in his mind, it completely had. He had been waiting for this moment for two years and it could not have happened any more perfectly.

"I never said I wouldn't," she teased him with giggles. James grinned widely before pressing his lips to hers once more.


	4. Try & Prove it

((A/N: Hey loves. I have 5 more days of school left and I just finished all my AP exams so give me a bit more time before this story really becomes updated more often. KMK25 was the only one to get why I needed HBP to write the last chapter- their kiss was very much like Harry and Ginny's first one... I even stole some of the wording giggles EDIT: GAH! So did GoddessoftheMaaN! Sorry, I was just really out of it this morning when skimming through the reviews. I'm sure more of you did too, but I am either missing them or you just didn't comment, whichever, I just hoped you liked the correlation... gah I'm such a dooche sometimes... SORRY! Anyways, thank you all for your reviews, keep them coming because they are total encouragement to keep posting!

Disclaimer: Damn James is a stud. I would so do him if he were mine. Esp if he looked like Tom Welling like everyone thinks he does. Tom Welling is a doll. Alas, neither are mine along with the whole lot of the Marauders. In fact, they are owned- save Tom Welling- by JK. Rowling. Drats.

**Chapter 4**

Try & Prove it

"She's right you know," Sirius deliberated, twirling his wand between his fingers as he lounged lazily on the couch. James looked up at him between his fingers, allowing Sirius to know he was listening. "She never said no, flat out I mean."

"Sirius- she told me she'd rather date the squid than me in our fifth year," James deadpanned and with a sigh slouched onto the couch. He was nervous. _Beyond _nervous. What if yesterday was a dream? He ran his hands through his hair and debated this. Well, it was a very good dream at least.

"That's not a flat out no though," Sirius pointed out as he took in his best friend. James was wearing a blue button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. It was something casual and better than the green sweater he had on earlier. It was funny how Sirius had a feeling James had tried on more outfits than Lily probably did for tonight.

She was late though, no denying that.

As the boys fretted downstairs, Lily was doing her own kind of worrying. She was completely dressed- had been for the past half hour- and had her hair done nicely too. She had on a pair of jeans and cute little blue top that wasn't very revealing, but made the green in her eyes completely shine. Instead of worrying how she looked, she was wondering if she had made the right choice. A million things could go wrong on this date, but she wanted to try.

Try. That still didn't make her stand up off her bed right away. She was dying inside. She didn't know what to do. James was... James was perfect and his kiss, Merlin, his kiss made the tingles shoot all the way down to her toes. She just wasn't used to this. She had never been out on a date before. Great Godric, her first date. She took a sturdy breath and got up from the bed ready to try anything.

Each second lasted a minute and each minute a year. James was dying. She couldn't stand him up. No, please no. After that kiss, after the way he brought her back to the dorm and she told him all about the paper, he was not going to just give up this easy. However, just as he decided he would ask one of the Gryffindor girls to go get Lily for him, she appeared at the top of the stairs smiling.

And bloody hell she looked amazing too.

She had this little blue number of a shirt on that seemed as silky as her skin, which showed just to the point to make his hormonal mind wander about the places the shirt covered. He loved it. He loved how she didn't flaunt her attributes or go overboard with the show of cleavage or midriff. She was perfect, completely perfect.

"Sorry I'm a touch late, I couldn't find one of my shoes," she smiled a perfect lie that James could not detect one bit. Instead his eyes wandered down her shapely legs to see her wearing a pair of worn out black tennis shoes with the toes a rubbery white, instead of a pair of sexy high heals. However, to James, the scuffed up flats seemed to fit her more. He even noticed she had written things on the rubbery sides even and made a mental note to read her shoes one day.

"Perfectly fine," James looked up smiling, moving his glasses up on the bridge of his nose again. Sirius snorted to hold in laughter. Perfectly fine his arse; James was about to have a fit he was so worried she stood him up. James held out his hand for Lily to take. "Shall we then?"

With a staggered breath that only Lily knew she had taken, she nodded and smiled remembering the way it felt to be in his arms. She took his hand and their fingers laced perfectly as if they were meant to intertwine. "Goodbye Sirius."

**000**

"This can't be allowed. If its not against the law, then at least against school rules," Lily commented as James, still holding her hand, tugged and helped her up the rocky terrain towards the shrieking shack. It was incredibly quiet except for their hard breathing and Lily's occasional outburst of how the lack of people around made visiting the most haunted building in Britain illegal.

"Trust me Lily, its not," James laughed as the hill began to even out and the house became more and more visible. It was completely torn, falling apart as if weather worn, but James knew that the holes were only bit of boyish rough housing.

"Then why are we the only two up here?" she asked, only fifty meters from the front porch of the house.

"Because everyone thinks its haunted and with the way you keep talking, I'm beginning to think so do you," he looked at her with a wry smile. She gave him a bit of an icy glare, but James knew it was only because he was right.

"I'm not scared," she stated. James laughed and gave her a little tug to bring her closer to him. Somehow with the way her green eyes traced his features, the sternness of her voice, the connotation shifted from a haunted house to something much, much larger and important to James.

"Prove it."

Lily's breath caught in her throat as his hazel eyes pierced her, calling her bluff. He was so close and she sensed the strong meaning to her words. She could feel his breath on her lips as their chests were mashed slightly together. She felt trapped, but the good kind of trapped, the kind where you can't decide where to look- his eyes or his lips. She knew she was scared. She wasn't used to this. She didn't know how to rely on people, but she was going to give it a try.

"Alright, fine," she stated, pushing him away from her, undoing their laced fingers with a challenging smile. Before James could register what she was doing, she was running towards the house, up the front porch and then, opening the door and dashing inside. Without hesitation, James followed at lighting speed.

Lily let out a girlie squeal as she heard James footsteps pound behind her, following her into the house. She laughed then widely as she quickly sprinted up the stairs to the second floor of the house. James was right behind her, and in one defining moment somewhere in the upstairs hallway, his arms wrapped around her as if he was catching his prey.

Yet instead of killing her, he found his lips fitting against hers perfectly. How it happened, neither of them knew, but she was suddenly facing him, hands getting lost in his hair as he supported the back of her head with one hand and the small of her back with the other.

A hard passion traced through their bodies and kiss as James' tongue lightly wet her lips and by reaction, she opened her mouth against his. The feeling was new, surprising, and a bit odd, but Lily couldn't deny the passion, need, and want as they deepened the kiss with their tongues.

She found herself being pushed backwards until her back hit a wall that creaked with her weight. She didn't mind, too lost in the moment and too lost in James as their faces and lips clashed together in a picture perfect kiss.

Her reactions, her movements, the way she tasted were driving James insane and he was doing his best to hold back. He knew Lily was new to this. He had never seen her with another boy so he assumed- and he could slightly tell by her kiss- that he was her first, but he would never want to change that. There was something about knowing he was her first and now second kiss that made a smile light up on his face. His hands itched to explore, but he placed one on the wall by her head trying to conquer that want as the other rested on her hip, his thumb softly rubbing the small amount of skin she had left for his eyes.

"Wow," Lily noted when they finally had to part lips, resting their forehead against the others, her voice shaking as she tried her best to breathe. James was finding it just as hard to breath, even talk, so all he did was nod in agreement. They stayed like that for over a minute as they caught their breaths, him pinning her to the wall, but neither party complained.

"You have to stop doing that," James finally noted, his voice still a little lost. Lily blinked.

"Stop what?" Stop kissing him? Now that she started, she wasn't sure she wanted to stop. Her stomach was so knotted right now she felt like she was about to throw up. Now as she stood there, she realized she was shaking even. And yet, all these ailments were a good thing to her.

"Randomly kissing me like that," he smiled, and moved in to press his lips to hers again, and then the corner of her mouth, "I'm getting addicted to them and it was only my second taste."

Lily laughed, shifting under him, finally noticing how they were positioned. James took a step back, releasing her from the sandwich of him and the wall, running a hand through his hair as if he had just ran a marathon. With the way his heart was beating twice as fast as normal, it sure seemed like he had. Oh, but the slight taste of cinnamon lip-gloss told him otherwise.

"What happens now?" Lily asked, biting her lip to try and hide the smile that was consuming her face, heart, and mind.

"Well you say yes to being my girlfriend, then we fall in love, get married, have children, and we live happily ever after," James grinned, though he was quite sure he was already in love.

"How about we take it one step at a time?" Lily laughed breathlessly.

"We can do that," James smiled and leaned in and kissed her softly once again, this time kissing all the way along her jaw to her ear. "Will you be my girlfriend Lily Evans?"

His breath was hot on the skin of her neck, causing her knees to buckle and her to place a hand on his chest to hold her upright. His soft voice of velvet made her melt as she nodded. "Yes, James Potter, I'll be your girlfriend."


	5. Finding Love

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! I really love you all for sticking by me though and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm back from London and have been flipping out about college so much I can barely get it together to write! Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter though. Don't be too mad, you know they needed a bit of drama. Everything will work out in the end. I mean, they get married, right? lol

Finding Love

There was a time where Sirius never thought this would happen. Of course he was always rooting for Prongs, but to actually see the day where Lily Evans was peacefully sitting at the lake with the Marauders, in James' lap even, was a little surprising. It wasn't too shocking though as it was soon discovered early on they were nowhere near the perfect couple.

At first they were nervous, tentative with each other's moves. More than once Sirius observed James almost putting his arm around Lily then think twice of it. It was cute how James seemed as new at this dating thing as Lily did. However in a week or two, Lily and James had grown on each other, enough for a quick kiss before going into class or holding hands underneath their desk. Never were they seen snogging in the halls. Large public displays of affection were not their thing.

Add in another two weeks and the little flaws began to come out and seemingly bother the other. Lily sometimes fell back into the habit of asking James in her irritated tone if he could be serious and James would shoot back harsh wonders if she could ever let loose. They would fight and bicker, infuriate the other to the point one stomped away or James was slapped- whatever came first. Yet the other would always chase, plead, kiss, do whatever to say sorry. Something kept bringing them back to each other as if there was something larger holding the couple together than just hormones.

However, it was because of this more than hormones emotion that caused Lily Evans to be a little more than cautious when being alone with James Potter. At first she blamed his sweet charm on doing this before, having girls chasing him for years. Then when the regular honeymoon period of dating wore off, she still found herself wanting more of him. He was too good at this dating thing. Some nights she could barely resist when she knew she had to.

James had taken to respecting Lily's need to go slow. Though he didn't understand them completely, he still tried his best to not push her more than she was ready. The thing was that there were moments where the steam started to fill the room and all would become murky and lost. His lips would find hers as they sat alone in front of the Gryffindor fire and the smoke would close them off from the rest of the world.

Kissing her softly at first, his eagerness and her passion collided, causing him to push her to the floor. Instead of discouraging the act, Lily dug her hands into James' messy black hair she had grown to love over the past month or two. His tongue moved into her mouth and she pressed hers into his, moaning slightly as her body turned into a bottle of hot need and want. It was almost too much for the boy who lay atop of her as his hand slid up her blouse to cup at her breasts.

For once Lily allowed it to happen. She didn't push him away, but arched her back into the palm of his hand as they kissed. She didn't know what was taking over her. She knew she should stop it. This was James Potter. She still had the thought that she should hate him for his cockiness. She kept telling herself that she should hate his smirk, not fall in love with it.

Unable to control herself, she not only started to run her hands down his back, underneath his shirt, but found her way to the buckle of his pants after a few more minutes of their tongues swirling together. She didn't know what she was doing. She knew that she had always told herself she was going to wait until she was in love. But did she love James?

As Lily undid his pants, James groaned into her mouth. His body was pulsing with heat and the bulge in his pants was not his wallet. He wanted her so much. While she was still debating her love, James had known before they even started going out. He loved her. She was perfect for him. If he had not known this then he wouldn't have devoted the last two years of his life persuading her to be his. She knew that now. She knew he loved her and with the way her hands were working, after her many speeches about waiting for love, he had thought she knew she loved him too.

That's why his hands moved under her skirt and started to remove her knickers slowly. It wasn't until they were at her knees that Lily realized what was going on. Her mind caught up with her hands that had not only pulled his pants down somewhat, but also started to move underneath his boxers. Her heartbeat increased tenfold with fear as she realized her plain cotton knickers were moving farther and farther down her legs.

"No James," she finally got out, "No, I can't!" She didn't just tell him stop going so far and resume where they were with the kissing. No, terror had seized Lily and she pushed him off her quickly. She could barely get her mind to work as she worked at pulling up her knickers and straighten her shirt. "I can't, I just, no," she cried, tears forming in her eyes.

James was in shock. He didn't know what went wrong, what happened to make her freak so badly. He sat up next to her, trying to calm her as her shock and hurt glowed in her perfect green eyes. Yet instead of welcoming his arms as she started to cry she scrambled onto her feet and ran up the stairs to her dorm. James could hear the door slam from where he sat. Fuck.

Trying to run after her the stairs let out a wail and he was lost. He didn't know what to do. It was too late at night that a girl may come into the common room and he could ask her to bring Lily down. After an hour of waiting, he gave up, trudging to his room. He didn't know that to do. He didn't know what he did wrong.

James had done nothing wrong; Lily knew that in her heart. He was perfect, just following his urges and what felt right. And it had all felt right, completely and perfectly right. Then why did she run? It was so right it scared her. She wasn't supposed to feel right with James, she wasn't supposed to want him in this way, and she was most certainly not supposed to love him.

And yet she did. She loved him so much she trusted him with her heart and soul; she trusted him with her body. She wanted to give herself to him and she couldn't get herself to admit it. She knew she was stubborn, but this stubborn? It was just- she couldn't love James. No, it just wasn't possible. This was some fun little relationship to waste time with, not fall in love.

Lily got up from where she sat on the floor, trying to figure out what she should do next. Every moment of what had just happened replayed in her mind. She had started it. She had put her hand down his pants. Oh god. She was a slut, a whore. She couldn't believe she got so... lost. She got muddled and lost, caught up in the moment.

Lily didn't sleep well that night. She kept having dreams of James and the mocking memory of her flight from love and love making. Would he be mad? Would he not want to see her again? Her questions were answered when she made her way downstairs the next morning to see James waiting for her like always.

James didn't show it, but he had not slept well last night either. He couldn't figure out what he did wrong, but he figured Lily would explain it to him eventually. She never missed a chance to yell at him for doing something wrong. He knew that maybe he should be giving her space, but he was afraid whatever happened last night would make him loose her.

Walking down the steps one at a time, Lily smiled softly. She couldn't bring herself to kiss him as she gave him a hug. She was scared. She knew she loved him. She just didn't know if she wanted to.

"You alright? You scared me last night," James asked, his hand on her cheek as he looked into her brilliant green eyes. Lily nodded, biting her lip debating what she should say.

"I know," she told him, "I scared myself, that's all." It was a simple answer that James didn't question causing her to feel the need to explain herself. "I just got lost..."

"And have you found yourself now?" he asked, his hand moving small circles on her lower back. Lily shook her head softly, looking at the ground for a moment. She was still lost in what happened next, but she did know one thing.

"But I found you."


	6. The Messenger

**The Messenger**

Sometimes time solves every problem. Sometimes the moments apart bring you closer together. The seconds, minutes, hours, days, they bring you to a place where you start to think you cannot go another day without love in your heart and at your side. Yet missing a person never hurt more than how James Potter missed Lily Evans. Every moment away from her no longer reassured him that he was a moment closer to seeing her again. He began to wonder if he would ever see her again. To admit that he lost her would admit defeat, but wherever she was, it was no longer with him.

It had been two weeks since James had rightfully scared Lily on the common room floor. At first, he figured she was just not ready to have sex, and he was fine with that. Sometimes people weren't ready to have sex. It was a maturity thing and even if this was the 1970's, there were some girls who kept their legs crossed. Lily was a very headstrong, mature, and responsible individual, having sex would change all of that. She saw it as irresponsible and something to be cherished, or so James thought.

He thought that after this one mistake, they could move on. He would no longer press her for sex and if the situation seemed to turn heated, his hands stayed at ten and two, like a muggle car driver. Even with his innocent hands, he stopped wandering under her shirt, aware of how her body would slightly stiffen when his hand made contact with her skin. Her fear was starting to cause him to become fearful and their touching became less, their lips became strangers, and James had not even seen Lily in the past two days except in class, but even then she made sure to sit with Sirius or Remus between them.

Not only was James beginning to hurt from the situation, but he was starting to question it. He had always known that he loved Lily. From the moment he first saw her, he felt a connection link their hearts and knew that they were soul mates. However, she had cut that connection short at first. She pushed him away for two years until the point he was ready to give up, but finally she felt it too. They were meant to be together, weren't they?

"I dunno Prongs, maybe you're a ruddy kisser," Remus spoke in an annoyed tone. This conversation about what had gone wrong was not the first one.

"Maybe she's realized she likes girls?" Sirius suggested, and not for the first time. He had been with the Greengrass twins the other night and found there was nothing bad about being with two girls at once, except for confusing their names every now and again. Did Lily have a twin? Naughty thoughts began to circulate through Sirius' mind and the look on his face told James he had lost Sirius to some sort of imaginary soft-core porno once again.

"Have you tried talking to her?" Peter asked, and then added on quietly, "she talked to me yesterday."

James jumped about five feet in his chair and straightened out from his depressed slump, all ears and ready to know all about it, "what do you mean she spoke with you? What did she say? Did she mention me?"

Peter, not used to the sudden attention, blushed several dark shades of red and purple before buckling up and not able to speak in full sentences, "well, yes, and no? She um, her potions essay. Slug…horn. She asked if you finished, I think. Maybe?"

"She asked if I had finished my essay? Does she need help on hers? Should I go find her and ask? Maybe you should go and say that I'll help her, do you think that's best?"

Peter cracked under pressure and suddenly disappeared as he transformed into rat form. Bullocks, whenever that happened it always took hours for Peter to change back; he was still figuring out the kinks in this animagus thing. James swore under his breath, groaning and slamming his head down on the desk multiple times until the bridge of his glasses began to cut into his nose. He would have kept going until he bled if Remus did not kick his chair.

"Would you like me to talk to her?" Remus asked.

"Would you?" James looked like he was about to cry and Remus knew that though he really hadn't been planning to talk to Lily, that he needed to now. James had the right to know what was happening in their relationship, especially if Lily had decided it was finally over.

And that was how Remus got roped into being the messenger between James and Lily.

It wasn't a difficult situation at first; Lily never had much to say. As fair as Remus could tell, the girl was just busy with things such as Head Duties and trying to get all her NEWTS in line. The girl had big dreams, but as the week went on even Remus began to wonder if James was part of those dreams. Whenever Remus would mention James, Lily made an obvious subject change. Something was wrong with her heart and finally, Remus just asked her flat out what changed.

"Lily, love, why are you avoiding James?" Remus asked as they sat out in one of the courtyards for fresh air and so Remus could have a smoke before their next class. Lily disapproved of his smoking habits, but whenever she tried to reprimand him for them, not only Remus, but the rest of the marauders would tell her to leave Remus alone; he had his reasons for being a chain smoker.

"I'm not avoiding James, I've just been busy," Lily said automatically, looking at the ground so her red hair could put a curtain between her face and Remus. She knew she was lying, she knew she was avoiding James, but she couldn't trust herself with him. That night, she had been so close to just giving her entire self to him. Lily was not that type of girl. She was self-reliable and she was giving too much of herself to James, relying on him too much to make her happy, to make life worth living. Yet these last few weeks without him had hurt her heart in ways that made her know that she was falling in love with him.

"Lily, you've been avoiding him. We can all see it. When was the last time you were even alone with him?" Remus asked her. She shook her head; she didn't know.

"We're only seventeen Remus, this isn't supposed to happen, not yet," Lily spoke quietly, fear vibrating in her voice. Remus suddenly felt sorry for her. Unlike James, she was being thrown into a serious relationship without even knowing it, without knowing how to handle feelings and emotions. She was trying to save herself from heartbreak, but she was causing her heart to shatter even more.

"Maybe you should tell James that," Remus suggested. He thought if James knew this, if he knew that Lily was just afraid of being hurt, then James would be fine, happy, would take her in his arms an hold her tight. James really was the boy for Lily. Once upon the time Remus thought they would never get together, but now he was hoping they would never be apart.

"I don't think he'd understand," she said quietly, "he's always been so comfortable with this, always saying he loves me. I can't even think straight without my stomach knotting up, that has to mean something."

"I think that means you love him, Lily," Remus smiled wolfishly.

Lily looked up and smiled at him softly, "I think it does too."

"Come on Lily, we're going to be late to class," Remus smiled, snuffing out his cigarette. He was very optimistic about the things to come. James and Lily would be together again, in love, smitten, and they always would be. Lily was just scared of love and James had an overabundance of it when it came to Lily. Things would even out soon enough and life at Hogwarts would be peaceful once more.

As long as James and Sirius did not try to set Remus up on any blind dates.


End file.
